Horseshoe



(No Model.)

A.B.TRAGY. HORSBSEOB.

Patented May 2, 1 893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ASAHEL B. TRAGY, OF MAYVILLE, NEW YORK.

HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,760, dated May 2,1893. Application filed April 3, 1891. Serial No. 387,545. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ASAHEL B. TRACY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mayville,

in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Art of Horseshoeing; and I do herebydeclare the following to'be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Reference is made herein to the accompanying drawings forming part ofthis specification.

Figure I, of the drawings represents a plan or bottom view of thehorse-shoe. Fig. II represents the upper side or seat for the foot, andexhibits the level surface thereof terminating at the heel ends withbevels or outwardly inclined planes. Fig. III, represents a transversesection of the same taken at line m, w, of Fig. I, and exhibits one ofthe clips, and the curved or concave bottom. This figure also shows theobtuse angleformed by the upper surface of the web, and the outer sideof the tread of the shoe. Fig. IV, represents a transverse section ofthe shoe taken at line 2, z, of Fig. I, and shows the position of thenail-holes, and their counter-sink in relation to the bearings ,of thetread. Fig. V represents a side elevation of the shoe as it appears whenattached to the foot of a horse.

My invention consists in the combination of features of form andconstruction having certain relations to eachother, and so united in ahorse-shoe as to avail of new and important advantages in practical use,and also to serve as guides which assure its proper correct attachmentto the foot with the greatest facility by a person of comparativelylittle skill in the art, and without injuring or weakening the wall orshell of the foot. The objections to the common practice in fitting thefoot to the shoe by cutting, burning and rasping away too much of thehard casing and support to the'foot, and thus mutilating it,and'shortening its natural grasp and tread, are obviated by myimprovement in the art of horse-shoeing.

My invention also obviates the serious objections to the use of calkswhich are liable to cause wounds, and stumbling, and elevate the foottoo. much to permit natural free action and to obtain thenecessarypurchase for exertion of power; and they also cause wrenchin gof the foot when traveling on uneven hard surfaces. None of theseinjurious results can occur in using my improved shoe, as it is providedwith a continued series of uniformly low oblong bearings, forming itstread around the outer-bottorn-side of the shoe, standing out obliquelyto the plane of its upper side, or seat, for the foot; the spacesbetween the bearings of the tread being merely su-fficient to preventslipping, and to assure secure hold upon the ground.

I To prevent contraction and quarter cracks of the hoof, the rearportions of the upper side,

or seat, upon which the heels, opposite to the frog of the foot rest arebeveled, and incline outwardly, which allows for natural growth, andprevents hoof binding; and moreover, these rear extremities of the shoeare stiffened .and strengthened by the longitudinally arranged oblongtreads and therefore are not liable to become bent and compressed uponand into the most flexible and tender part of the foot.

To assure accuracy and facility in setting.

the shoe, and to correctly determine its position on the foot, it isprovided with a series of clips which are convex on their outer sides,and slightly concave on their inner faces to correspond in form with thecircular shape of the foot of a horse; and being arranged and attachedto the shoe so that their inner sides will occupy the same downwardlyinclined plane with the periphery or outer boundary of the shoe, theclips serve as a guide to fit it properly so that its outer side orperiphery will coincide with the outer surface of the foot in itsnatural shape, and Without rasping or cutting the outer boundary of thefoot away. This method of placing the shoe, leaves the foot in itsintegrity and full strength. It is also apparent that the clips whichwill be bent into close contact with the outer shell or wall of thefoot, without cutting indentations to let them in, enable the shoe to besecurely fastened to the foot, by the use of comparatively few smallnails; thus are avoided the injury and weakness commonly occasioned fromthe necessity of employing large nails vvhich often break the wall orcasingof the oot.

The shoe can be made most economically and durable, and of any desiredsize or pattern, by casting it of malleable metal, tempered to theproper elasticity and hardness.

The form of the shoe as seen in side elevation, Fig. 5 resembles a royalcrown, the tapering upwardly projecting clips representing the crestedtop, and the indented or scalloped tread representing the ornamentalband or circlet for the head; and being of this form it can be much morecheaply made of cast metal which is more durable for the purpose thanwrought metal.

The upper plane of Web A, and the outer plane of tread B form an obtuseangle, and this arrangement gives the tread an oblique set, andespecially serves to prevent the animal from slipping and falling, whilethe shoe is pressing the ground and its toe is turning rearward duringthe latter portion of each movement of the foot when in the act ofexerting power, as While pulling or drawing a load. The concave bottomof the shoe will prevent it from retaining earth, snow or ice. Itsscalloped or indented tread G, which stands obliquely outward, furnishesan enlarged firm support,around the foot,prevents it fromrocking ortilting; and allows the animal to obtain natural easy grasp; and doesnot unduly elevate the animal as when stilted on calks; but affords themost ample purchase for traveling and for draft.

The foot of a horse will be prepared for fitting and setting the shoethereon by merely paring the bottom of it evenly to form, a seat; andthis being done the shoe will be placed in such position thereon as tobring the inner faces of the clips P into contact with the outerboundary of the foot, at its bottom edge, and

then the nails will be driven, and the clips will be forced closelyagainst the hoof as shown in Fig. 5. When the shoe is thus placed andset,any portions of the bottom edge of the hoof which may project outbetween the clips beyond the body or periphery of the shoe may becarefully removed with a knife or rasp.

In the drawings letter D,denotes the clips. E, denotes the oblongsections which form the tread. The letters S, S, denote those portionsof the upper surface of the web A, which are beveled or inclinedoutwardly to prevent contraction of the foot and may properly be termedthe heel bevels.

Having described my invention, Iclaim and desire to secure by LettersPatent- 1. In a horse shoe having a curved bottom, outwardly inclinedsectional bearing surfaces, an upper side or seat formed as a horizontalseat or plane, in combination with a series of clips 1), D, arrangedaround and attached to its periphery, with the inside of said clips in aplane with the outer edge face of the shoe, and calks upon the bottom ofthe shoe in the intervals between the aforesaid clips, and nail holesbehind the calks, substantially as described.

2. In a horse shoe having a curved bottom, outwardly inclined sectionalbearing surfaces, an upper side or seat formed as a horizontal plane andrising from the toe to the heel, in I combination with a series of clipsD, D, ar-

ranged around and attached to its periphery,

with the inside of said clips in a plane with the outer edge face of theshoe and calks uponthe bottom of the shoe in intervals between theaforesaid clips, the spaces between the calks being cut away as shown,and nail holes behind the cal-ks, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I hereto affixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

ASAHEL B. TRACY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES T. SOOFIELD, JOHN A. BURNETT.

